The Forecast Calls For Storms...

Posted on 10 Jan 2021 @ 6:04pm by Lieutenant JG Angelica Fairchild & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale & Lieutenant JG Shay Mitchell & Story Teller

1,876 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Ghosts
Location: Security Briefing Room
Timeline: MD 4 || 1300 hours

[Security]

"All right, so here's the plan." Angel wasn't sure if her quickly assembled team trusted her yet or if the plan would work, but it was all she had. It would have to do for now, whether anyone else liked it or not. "We don't know who or what is on the bridge, but we do know that they've used Captain Geisler's command codes to lock us out. They have access to the sensors and can block us easily if we approach through the ship's interior. So we've been given clearance to access the bridge from space." She pulled up a schematic of deck one, highlighting the path she intended for her team to take. "They won't be expecting this sort of entry, so it should give us an element of surprise. It'll be a bit of a space walk to get there, but we might be able to use the cargo bay one transporter to cut some of the distance." If the intruder hadn't shut it down, at least. "If we can't use that, we may have to use a shuttlebay as an egress point."

Did Shay trust her? No, and she wouldn't pretend she did, either. Trust was earned, and considering that their new Assistant Chief hadn't been on board the ship very long meant it that trust wasn't there yet. And, based on what she was currently hearing, it was unlikely it would be forthcoming in the near future, either. "Wait..." the young woman began trying to process the information dump that had just been laid on them. "First things first. You tell us you don't know who, or what, is on the bridge, but know that the Captain's command codes have been used to basically lock everyone out?"

She took a deep breath and continued. "You also say they have access to sensors and can lock us out if we attempt to approach through the ship's interior? Why not attempt to run a sensor scan on the bridge to see who's present? A who is less likely to be aware of something like that happening, which would mean we're dealing with a what if our attempts are blocked," the Ensign stated.

"And who granted clearance for a spacewalk? Commander Walsh is on an away mission, and Captain Geisler's command codes were used to secure the bridge. We can't rule out the possibility that he's gone rouge and did it himself. You weren't here for our last mission. You don't know what we went through. For all we know, he could have a damn Dolmoqour in his head. There's no guarantee that they've all been gotten," She said, her paranoia kicking in just a bit. Shay knew first hand what it was like to be controlled by the parasite... what it was like to hurt the ones you worked side by side with every single day and worked hard to protect.

And now... it was time to address the spacewalk itself. "You seem pretty sure we're going in through the hull of the ship, which brings me to my next question. How do we get through? You say they won't expect it, but I beg to differ. Cutting through the hull, if we even have the proper tools to make that happen, will give whoever is on the bridge the opportunity to vacate, or worse, kill anyone they might be holding hostage. Not to mention, suck anyone out into the depths of space. If the Captain's command codes are in the wrong hands, who's to say whoever, or whatever, has taken hold of the bridge won't use those same codes to deny us access to the computer to get some kind of forcefield up in the event we're able to make it through in the first place?"

Proctor watched quietly as the new Assistant Chief laid out the situation then Mitchell's replies and concerns. There was a lot to unpack information wise. She was unsure if she should complicate the situation by her two cents before the Lieutenant responded to the points already listed and so stood there quietly as Mitchell finished.

"Captain Geisler doesn't need his command codes to give an order or an authorization directly to a member of his crew, and as I said, he approved the EVA and my plan. So if you don't like it, you can take it up with him... after we're done. Unless you'd like to sit this one out, Ensign." Well, that was a weird feeling, pulling rank on someone she barely knew. But Angel just brushed the feeling aside and forged ahead. "Also, you're jumping to conclusions and making assumptions before the entire plan is discussed. I'm not so stupid as to try cutting through the hull when there's a perfectly good airlock to attempt opening and a handful of windows in the observation lounge that would be far easier to breach than the duranium hull of a starship. The airlock would be ideal, but if my overrides don't open it, breaching a window with a spatial charge should give a small team enough time to access the interior before the emergency force fields activate." She wasn't even going to touch the comment about not being there for the previous mission, not finding that to be particularly relevant to the conversation.

Shay wasn't impressed. Their new Assistant Chief didn't seem to listen, and it was taking every ounce of self control the Ensign had not to snap on her. "No, the Captain doesn't need his command codes to give an order or authorize a plan," she agreed, keeping her tone as neutral as possible. "Where exactly was Captain Geisler when he authorized your plan for a space walk? Because, what you seem to not grasp is the possibility there could be a parasite in his head, and he could be setting us up."

After the exchange Sarah spoke up, aware of time ticking away, "Much is possible, do you have any evidence?" Her own voice mild. She was focusing on the practical, to her mind, next steps as she tried to keep her surprise at talking to a superior officer in such a way off her face and voice.

Shay looked to her fellow security officer and arched a brow. She had a feeling that Sarah and the new Assistant Chief were going to get along great. "Was there any evidence that we had parasites in our head until we were ready to make that fact known?" She asked. "No, because it goes against the objective. That being said, is there any evidence that all of the Dolmoqour were taken out? Again, no. They wanted the ship. They wanted to get out of the Gamma Quadrant, and now the bridge has been compromised using the Captain's command codes. We can't rule out the possibility."

"What you don't seem to grasp, Ensign Mitchell, is that you are quite out of line and every minute you spend questioning me gives whoever is on the bridge another minute to further their control of the ship." Terse and no longer neutral, Angel's voice took on an icy quality. "Where I spoke with Captain Geisler is beside the point, but if you must know we were in Auxiliary Control, with several members of the crew who are not new to the ship and know whether he is himself or not. Now you have a choice. Stay on topic and contribute to the plan or opt out and either stay here or report to Auxiliary Control as part of the security detail there."

"I will be opting out," Shay stated, less than impressed with their new Assistant Chief. Her concerns were valid given what she went through, but what did she expect from someone who wasn't there for it, and another individual that was, but was notorious for brown nosing? And those around the Captain would have no idea if he was himself or not. Just like the crew didn't know the first time around until they wanted it known. "In fact..." The young woman reached to her collar and removed the single pip to place it onto the table just before walking out.

Sarah watched the other officer go with a look of surprise. That was most unexpected, she'd read the reports of what had happened and understood the need for caution. She also knew time of the essence and couldn't see enough to delay much longer. She looked at the Assistant Chief with a questioning expression.

"Let her go," Angel said quietly after a slow, measured breath. "Are there any other objections or can we get on with fleshing out this assault?"

The rest of the team, assembled of mostly new recruits, didn't know what to make of what had transpired. Mitchell's concepts and fears hadn't been translated to them, but they certainly did wonder what the hell had happened on this ship prior to their arrival. They had heard various rumors, and none of them substantiated, at least until now.

Still, they were committed to the job at hand. One of them, a burly warrant officer, looked to Lieutenant Fairchild. "You were talking about breaching the Observation Lounge on Deck One?"

Sarah focused on the Assistance Security Chief's reply as the thought occurred to her to wonder if she should be concerned that someone who just seemed to quit left armed.

Ensign Thi Ng, a hulking Brikar who they had managed to find an EVA suit that fit him, stood quietly by and waited for orders. "I suggest we take a laser drill and come up from under the bridge just past Access Hatch Twelve," he rumbled.

"Access hatch twelve..." Angel murmured to herself, quickly consulting the schematic again. That entry point would bring them directly to the bridge, possibly saving them quite a bit of time. And it might even be a better surprise than blowing out a window... as well as causing significantly less damage to the ship. "Good idea, Ensign. We can swing by the maintenance lockers on this deck before moving toward deck one. We'll still prep for possible EVA, in case we have to fall back on breaching the lounge." Having two feasible plans was better than just the one, and it was only one additional piece of equipment. She glanced around the room, looking for anyone who might have more input. "Any questions? Other suggestions?"

Warrant Officer M'Kae shook his Caitian head. "No suggestions here, Lieutenant. If you like, ma'am, we could have the EVA suits on standby in case we have to resort to Plan B."

"Good idea." Angel nodded slightly, appreciative of the suggestion. "Anyone else?"

"No Ma'am." Proctor replied after considering what had been suggested so far. It had the solid bones of a few plans they could modify depending on circumstances.

Angel let a long pause go by, but no further suggestions came. "All right then. Let's roll."

TAG

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OOC-HG: Let's go ahead and consider this post wrapped. Angelica, feel free to post whenever you're ready. Since we've moved onto our next mission, we can just assume that we were successful. But if you want to play it out, I'm totally fine with that too.

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